Systems Theory and Interdisciplinarity in Engineering Education: a review and critique

Soft or socio-technical systems methodology promises much for the task of engineering education, note least the way in which it promotes an inherently interdisciplinary mode of thinking. For this reason it is being advocated as a desirable framework to be fully integrated into the curriculum of any training programme. In this paper we briefly outline the development of ‘systems thinking’ and the form it has taken in the study of work and organisations. Next we consider some of the reservations which social scientists have expressed about such modes of thought. Finally we explore further the relationship between systems, interdisciplinarity and engineering education.     

基于设计思维的技术教育STEM整合课程研究--以“设计更好的学校”课程为例

设计是技术教育中不可忽略的关键要素之一,设计思维可为各个领域的创新工作提供策略与方法上的指导。基于此,文章首先分析了技术教育中开展基于设计思维的STEM整合课程的机遇和必要性;接着,文章以“设计”为核心理念,提出了技术教育STEM整合课程的设计理念,并以此为指导,构建了基于设计思维的技术教育STEM整合课程框架;随后,文章以“设计更好的学校”课程为例,进行了框架的实践应用;最后,文章就未来技术教育的发展提出了建议。基于设计思维的STEM整合课程将技术与数学、科学、工程进行整合,让学生基于真实的设计挑战开展实践,有助于培养学生的批判性思维、问题解决能力和创新能力。     

The sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and researching education policy

Bourdieu did not write anything explicitly about education policy. Despite this neglect, we agree with van Zanten that his theoretical concepts and methodological approaches can contribute to researching and understanding education policy in the context of globalisation and the economising of it. In applying Bourdieu’s theory and methodology to research in education policy, we focus on developing his work to understand what we call ‘cross‐field effects’ and for exploring the emergence of a ‘global education policy field’. These concepts are derived from some of our recent research concerning globalisation and mediatisation of education policy. The paper considers three separate issues. The first deals with Bourdieu’s primary ‘thinking tools’, namely practice, habitus, capitals and fields and their application to policy studies. The second and third sections consider two additions to Bourdieu’s thinking tools, as a way to reconceptualise the functioning of policy if considered as a social field. More specifically, the second section develops an argument around cross‐field effects, as a way to group together, research and describe policy effects. The third section develops an argument about an emergent global education policy field, and considers ways that such a field affects national education policy fields.     

Cultivating engineering ethics and critical thinking: a systematic and cross-cultural education approach using problem-based learning

In May 2008, the worst earthquake in more than three decades struck southwest China, killing more than 80,000 people. The complexity of this earthquake makes it an ideal case study to clarify the intertwined issues of ethics in engineering and to help cultivate critical thinking skills. This paper first explores the need to encourage engineering ethics within a cross-cultural context. Next, it presents a systematic model for designing an engineering ethics curriculum based on moral development theory and ethic dilemma analysis. Quantitative and qualitative data from students’ oral and written work were collected and analysed to determine directions for improvement. The paper also presents results of an assessment of this interdisciplinary engineering ethics course. This investigation of a disaster is limited strictly to engineering ethics education; it is not intended to assign blame, but rather to spark debate about ethical issues.     

Using teachers' prior knowledge,attitudes and beliefs to develop in-service teacher education courses for inclusion

This paper examines one important dimension of inclusive education: the development of in-service teacher education courses. Using an example from Cyprus, it discusses the issue of contextualizing teacher training courses to suit teachers' prior knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about inclusion. The paper considers some of the findings of a survey about issues relating to inclusion. The findings suggest that teachers' conceptualizations of inclusion are problematic. According to the findings, teachers tend to think on the basis of a medical and charity model and they favour special schooling for specific groups of children. The discussion considers how a training course for inclusion can be academically robust and professionally useful, while at the same time taking into consideration teachers' prior knowledge and expectations.     

将素质教育思想融入数学教学之中

高等数学是电大开放教育财经、理工专业的一门基础必修课。在开放教育数学教学中,必须充分发挥数学课程的实用、思维、德育、美育等功能,注重数学思想方法教学,运用多种教学方式,培养学生思维能力和自主学习的能力。     

土木工程专业土力学实验教学中的问题与改革措施简

实验课在高等教育培养面向工程应用的高级人才过程中起着关键作用,是培养学生动手能力、观察能力、创新思维的主要实践环节。土木工程专业课程具有很强的工程实践性,而实验课是连接理论教学与工程实践的桥梁。通过对土木工程专业土力学实验课的现状分析,提出当下土力学实验课中存在的问题,并针对这些问题提出相应的改革思路与方法,为提高土木工程专业实验课的教学效果、培养应用与创新型工程技术人才提供有益的参考。     

Culture and cognition in information technology education

This paper aims at explaining the outcomes of information technology education for international students using anthropological theories of cultural schemas. Even though computer science and engineering are usually assumed to be culture-independent, the practice in classrooms seems to indicate that learning patterns depend on culture. The situation in a college in Finland is evaluated based on study records, surveys on learning experiences, learning logs by students and classroom observations. Reasons for the educational outcome are discussed theoretically using cultural anthropology and the socio-cultural theory of learning. The universality of Western scientific thinking is questioned, and a need to recognise different cultural schemas in the thinking of international students is acknowledged. The study concludes that a view of human cognition as social and embodied gives new insights to information technology education when there is a great diversity of student backgrounds and their culturally produced mental schemas.     

基因工程虚拟实验室的设计与实现

基因工程是一门非常注重实践的课程,但其实验具有价格贵,周期长的特点,因而虚拟实验室的创建有助于缓解实验资源与教学需求之间存在的矛盾。本文依托广东省高校现代教育技术“151工程”项目“基因工程虚拟实验室”的工作,对基因工程虚拟实验室的设计与实现进行了探讨,以期为同类虚拟实验室或相关学习资源的开发和应用提供思路和借鉴。     

Engineering ethics education in the USA: Content,pedagogy and curriculum

Interest in engineering ethics education developed significant momentum in the USA as the 20th century drew to a close. Nevertheless, nearly 80% of engineering graduates are not required to take ethics-related courses. The content of engineering ethics education consists of 'microethical' issues focusing on individual professional responsibility and 'macroethical' issues dealing with the development of technology. The pedagogical framework of engineering ethics education has evolved primarily toward utilization of case studies and codes of ethics, in some instances supplemented by an introduction to moral theory. Substantial progress has been made in the development of case materials, including highprofile cases, everyday cases, quantitative cases and cases highlighting 'good works'. Cases are widely disseminated in textbooks and online. Online resources include interactive case studies and a rich variety of other ethics-related materials. Prominent curriculum models in the USA include a required course in engineering ethics, ethics-across-the-curriculum projects, and integration of engineering ethics and science, technology and society material. Changes in accreditation criteria for US engineering schools will potentially elevate the prominence of instruction in engineering ethics and the societal context of engineering. Many challenges remain, most notably the need for US engineering faculty to accept greater responsibility for engineering ethics education.     

Neuroscience, education and special education

The discipline of neuroscience draws from the fields of neurology, psychology, physiology and biology, but is best understood in the wider world as 'brain science'. Of particular interest for education is the development of techniques for 'imaging' the brain as it performs different cognitive functions. Cognitive neuroimaging has already led to advances in understanding some of the basic functions involved in learning and raised implications for education and special education in particular. For example, neuroimaging has enabled scientists to study the very complex processes underpinning speech and language, thinking and reasoning, reading and mathematics. In this article, Professor Usha Goswami of the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education first reviews basic information on brain development. She provides a brief introduction to the tools used in neuroimaging then considers recent findings from neuroscience that seem relevant to educational questions. Professor Goswami uses this review to suggest particular ways in which neuroscience research could inform special education. In its closing sections, this article provides authoritative perspectives on some of the 'neuromyths' that seem to have taken root in the popular imagination and argues for increased dialogue, in the future, between the disciplines of neuroscience and education.     

电气信息类创新人才培养的探索与实践

在国家实施创新驱动发展战略的背景下,为激发学生的学习兴趣和专业感知、培养学生的工程思维和创新意识、提升学生的工程实践和创新能力,依托模拟电子技术课程,围绕创新三要素--知识、思考、实践,提出一种基于创新素养教育的专业导航图、知识思维导图、口袋实验室建设新举措,探索和优化电气信息类创新人才培养模式,助力实现"学思结合、知行统一"的教学目标,践行创新教育理念。     

Quality assurance and accreditation of engineering education in Jordan

This paper provides a study of the quality assurance and accreditation in the Jordanian higher education sector and focuses mainly on engineering education. It presents engineering education, accreditation and quality assurance in Jordan and considers the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) for a case study. The study highlights the efforts undertaken by the faculty of engineering at JUST concerning quality assurance and accreditation. Three engineering departments were accorded substantial equivalency status by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology in 2009. Various measures of quality improvement, including curricula development, laboratories improvement, computer facilities, e-learning, and other supporting services are also discussed. Further assessment of the current situation is made through two surveys, targeting engineering instructors and students. Finally, the paper draws conclusions and proposes recommendations to enhance the quality of engineering education at JUST and other Jordanian educational institutions.     

《数值分析》课程教学改革的几点思考

数值分析课程在计算机科学与技术学科中占有非常重要的地位,它已成为计算机专业教学改革的重要内容之一.本文论述了该课程在理论与实践相结合、重视思维方式的培养、编程与软件运用并重、选择适宜教材和考核方式改革等几个方面进行改革的思路.     

新工科背景下生物医学工程专业科研训练培养体系探索

科研训练是生物医学工程专业培养过程中极其重要的实践教学环节.针对生物医学工程专业本科生科研训练课程设置中存在的问题,通过梳理并重构课程体系、优化教学内容和考核方式、促进专业骨干教师深度参与、指导管理全过程定制化,并充分与大创项目、竞赛项目等具体实施结合,从多个方面推进该课程的改革与实践.这些探索与实践在培养学生创新思维...     

A review of politics of education in the 'moment of 1976'

James Callaghan's 1976 Ruskin Speech is often presented as denoting the end of consensual policy-making in education and a profigurement of Thatcherite educational policies. This paper considers the validity of visualising 1976 as a foothill of New Right thinking about education and expresses some skepticism about interpretations which neglect subterranean politics.     

Getting emotional: a critical evaluation of recent trends in the development of school leaders

Emotion is a growing focus for contemporary thinking about leadership in public policy and corporate arenas. In British education systems, three imperatives are evident: the idea that transformation is essential; leadership succession in crisis; and, more recently, that leaders must be able to run organisations that address the emotional well-being of staff and students. Viewed as a key outcome of schooling, its importance is mirrored in school leadership, especially professional development. This article considers whether this represents a step-change in leadership development praxis or is, instead, an invasive form of emotional engineering redolent of long-established orthodoxies of control and domination. If so, it is argued, leadership development as the advocacy of emotional acumen presents moral technology as a new form for intervening in leaders' emotional selves, thereby distracting them from addressing fundamental aspects of education for which they are primarily responsible.     

基于卓越工程师培养计划的电机与拖动教学改革

根据卓越工程师教育培养计划,对校级精品课电机与拖动从课程内容、教学方法、教学手段、实践教学等方面进行了教学改革,帮助学生完成了从单纯理论分析到工程实践思维方式的转变,培养了学生解决实际工程问题的能力。     

融合课程思政理念的区块链课程体系建设——以上海电力大学高水平通识课程为例

目前区块链课程普遍是面向计算机类专业开设的专业课程,结合所在高校工程教育实践特色的区块链通识课程建设处于起步阶段.本文以上海电力大学高水平通识课程"区块链技术导论"为例,着眼新工科工程教育要求、聚焦学校能源电力特色、融合课程思政理念开展区块链课程体系建设探索与实践.     

Bioscience and the sociology of education: the case for biosocial education

This article makes a case for biosocial education as a field of research and as a potential framework for education practice. The article engages with sociology of education’s contemporary interests in embodiment and affect, the possibilities offered by concept studies, and uses of assemblage and complexity theory for thinking about educational phenomena. It also considers broader social science and political theory engagements with epigenetics and neuroscience. The article examines the legacy of the biology/sociology split and the risks, limits, and potentialities of degrounded collaborative trans-disciplinary biosocial research. It considers developments in biosciences that may have particular resonance and promise for education, in particular the epigenetics of care and stress and the metabolomics of diet. The article argues that sociology of education should engage with bioscience to interrogate the folding together of the social, cultural, biographical, pedagogic, political, affective, neurological, and biological in the interactive production of students and learning.